I Know This Story
by So-crates Johnson
Summary: Adam and Naveen bond over shared experiences.


**_This was written for the August writing prompt on the Bittersweet and Strange forum (which I definitely recommend checking out if you like Beauty and the Beast, or even just Disney in general). I know these movies take place about 250 years apart, but hopefully you can suspend your disbelief for a few minutes. ;)_**

Adam stepped back and tried to blend into the nearby wall as he scanned the crowded ballroom for Belle. His wife was out there somewhere, mingling and hopefully having a good time with the other guests. Personally, Adam never enjoyed parties like this. Making polite smalltalk with strangers was not his strong suit, and after living in relative isolation for nearly ten years, large crowds had a tendency to make him feel just a bit claustrophobic. Belle assured him that it would get easier with time, but he still overwhelmingly preferred the quiet of their castle home and the company of the familiar faces that inhabited it.

Finally abandoning his search for his wife, Adam noticed a dark-haired, olive-skinned young man standing a few feet away, alone, tapping his foot to the music. He was well dressed and appeared to be about the same age as Adam. He had a friendly look to him - certainly friendlier than the stuffy noblemen with whom Adam was used to dealing - and Adam wondered if he should try to start a conversation with the man. As he was considering what to say, a server approached him with a large silver tray. "C_uisses de grenouille_?" the server asked in a deep voice.

Adam winced and shook his head. "_Non, merci_."

The server then approached the young dark-haired man and offered the tray to him. The young man leaned over to Adam and asked in a loud whisper, "What are they?"

"Frog legs," Adam replied. The young man blanched and shook his head emphatically, and the server moved on to the next group of guests.

"I don't like them much myself," Adam confided. "Too garlicky." In truth, he had lost the taste for animal flesh since he had become human again, but that was hardly the kind of thing he could explain to a stranger.

"Oh, I do not mind a little garlic," the young man explained. "But seeing as I used to be a frog, I would not wish to eat anyone I might have known."

Adam had trouble placing the man's accent. European, maybe? Or perhaps South - _wait_. Did he just say ...?

"I'm sorry, did you say you used to be a _frog_?" Adam asked incredulously. Surely he had misunderstood.

"I _know_!" exclaimed the young man good-naturedly. "You think I am pulling on your leg? That it is unbelievable, yes? But I swear it is the truth," he stated solemnly, raising his right hand.

"Not that unbelievable," Adam conceded thoughtfully. "Were you ... always a frog?"

"No, no!" the young man shook his head firmly. "I was a prince. I _am_ a prince. But I was placed under a spell that turned me into a frog."

"A spell? Were you cursed by an enchantress?" Adam asked in a low voice. The possibility was comforting, in a strange way.

"An enchantress?" the young man repeated quizzically. "No, it was a shadow man."

"A shadow man?"

"You know, a witch doctor," the young man clarified.

Adam's eyes widened. He had heard stories from the New World about voodoo. It sounded like scary stuff, but he had no idea that it was powerful enough to turn a man into an _animal_. The young man must have done something pretty serious to deserve such a fate. "Why did the shadow man want to punish you?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, he did not want to punish me. He tricked me. He needed me out of the way in order to get his hands on my wife's friend's fortune," the young man explained.

Adam frowned. "That sounds complicated."

"It was!"

"But how did you ...," Adam trailed off, waving his hand up and down at the young man's form, "change back?"

"Ah," said the young man, smiling. "A kiss from my lovely wife. Only a kiss from a true princess could break the spell."

"I suppose it was a lucky thing that your wife was a princess then," Adam observed. "The shadow man must not have thought his plan through very well."

"Well she was not a princess when the spell was first cast," the young man explained. "She became a princess only when she married me."

"Wait a minute," Adam said slowly, trying to piece the story together in his head. "Then she married you ... when you were still a _frog_?"

"Well she was also a frog," the young man admitted, suddenly looking sheepish. "You see, I may have caused her to turn into a frog - accidentally, of course! - the first time she kissed me, when she was still a cranky waitress."

Adam shook his head. He thought of his servants and friends, who had been forced to pay the price for his mistakes even though they had done nothing but try to help him. It still amazed him that so many of them had stuck by him after the curse had been broken. "Your wife must be a remarkable woman."

"She is. Although when I first met her, I thought that she was a real stick in the mud. But she is not!" the young man exclaimed quickly, glancing guiltily around to make sure that no one had overheard him. Relieved, he explained, "She is not a stick in the mud. She is smart, and talented - and even secretly funny. She had quite the influence on me. Until I met her, I did not realize what I am capable of doing; I always had other people to do everything for me."

Adam smiled in understanding. "It doesn't exactly sound like love at first sight."

"It was not," the young man agreed. "But over time, I was able to appreciate how extraordinary she actually is. I was also able to prove to her that I was not as lazy and useless as she thought. And of course, she could not help but eventually see how irresistible I was beneath the ... mucous. But we would not have had that opportunity if we had not been forced to work together to break the spell. So you see, it did not end so badly, us being turned into frogs. Though it was quite harrowing at the time." He smiled cheerfully.

"And for how long were the two of you frogs?"

"Weeks!" the young man cried dramatically. _Weeks? That's_ it_?_ thought Adam. Still, he found himself empathizing with the man. Here was someone who might actually be able to understand - and _believe_ - what he had gone through.

"Adam!" His head snapped toward the floor, and he saw Belle hurrying up to him excitedly, her gold skirts bunched into her hands so as not to trip over them in her haste. "I've just been told that this castle has a library! Would you like to - oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were talking with a friend!"

Adam knew that the polite thing would be to introduce his wife to said friend, but he suddenly realized that he hadn't the faintest idea to whom he had been speaking. Luckily, the young man saved him from embarrassment by introducing himself to Belle. "Mademoiselle, I am Naveen, prince of Maldonia," he intoned as he kissed Belle's hand.

Belle smiled warmly at Naveen. "It's lovely to meet you, Prince Naveen. I'm Belle, princess of France. And I see you've met my husband, _Adam_," she added, winking conspiratorially at her husband. "I apologize for interrupting the two of you. I suppose I got a little over excited. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go explore the library; feel free to join me later, if you like."

"Your wife is quite beautiful, Adam," Naveen complimented as Belle hurried off. "How did you meet her?"

Adam placed an arm around his new friend's shoulder. "Naveen, let me tell you a story ..."


End file.
